Sa'd bin Mu'adh came to Mecca with the intention of performing 'Umra, and stayed at the
house of Umaiya bin Khalaf Abi Safwan, for Umaiya himself used to stay at Sa'd's house
when he passed by Medina on his way to Sham. Umaiya said to Sad, "Will you wait till
midday when the people are (at their homes), then you may go and perform the Tawaf round
the Ka'ba?" So, while Sad was going around the Ka'ba, Abu Jahl came and asked,
"Who is that who is performing Tawaf?" Sad replied, "I am Sad." Abu
Jahl said, "Are you circumambulating the Ka'ba safely although you have given refuge
to Muhammad and his companions?" Sad said, "Yes," and they started
quarreling. Umaiya said to Sad, "Don't shout at Abi-l-Hakam (i.e. Abu Jahl), for he
is chief of the valley (of Mecca)." Sad then said (to Abu Jahl). 'By Allah, if you
prevent me from performing the Tawaf of the Ka'ba, I will spoil your trade with
Sham." Umaiya kept on saying to Sad, "Don't raise your voice." and kept on
taking hold of him. Sad became furious and said, (to Umaiya), "Be away from me,
for I have heard Muhammad saying that he will kill you." Umaiya said, "Will
he kill me?" Sad said, "Yes." Umaiya said, "By Allah! When Muhammad
says a thing, he never tells a lie." Umaiya went to his wife and said to her,
"Do you know what my brother from Yathrib (i.e. Medina) has said to me?" She
said, "What has he said?" He said, "He claims that he has heard Muhammad
claiming that he will kill me."

She said, By Allah! Muhammad never tells a lie." So when the infidels started to
proceed for Badr (Battle) and declared war (against the Muslims), his wife said to him,
"Don't you remember what your brother from Yathrib told you?" Umaiya decided not
to go but Abu Jahl said to him, "You are from the nobles of the valley of Mecca), so
you should accompany us for a day or two." He went with them and thus Allah got
him killed.

Often Allah seems to be very anxious to fulfill Muhammad's will ... as Aisha observed
on some occasions. We see Muhammad announcing that he would kill Umaiya. Was it really
Allah or could it be that not only Sa`d but more of Muhammad's people knew that the
execution of Umaiya was Muhammad express wish which they then hastened to fulfill?

In any case, Muhammad expressed his plan to kill him and it happened.

One of many who were killed after there was some request or order by Muhammad to do so.
This one is different as it happens during an offical battle and being killed on the
battle field is not the same as a night time execution squad but nevertheless he seems to
have been singled out and Muhammad's soldiers might have been instructed to have special
attention to see to his death.

We don't know for sure, but it fits the pattern of the many other assassinations of
Muhammad's personal enemies.

Ironically, the book in Bukhari out of which this hadith is taken is titled
"Virtues and Merits of the Prophet (pbuh) and his Companions".

My Response:

First of all, I want to understand what is wrong
with targeted killings? Doesn't America order their army to target specific war criminals?

Targeted killing is a common thing even in the
battle field. Here is an example of target killing in which Wahshi killed the Prophet's
Uncle Hamzah.

I went out with 'Ubaidullah bin 'Adi
Al-Khaiyar. When we reached Hims (i.e. a town in Syria), 'Ubaidullah bin 'Adi said (to
me), "Would you like to see Wahshi so that we may ask him about the killing of
Hamza?" I replied, "Yes." Wahshi used to live in Hims. We enquired about
him and somebody said to us, "He is that in the shade of his palace, as if he were a
full water skin." So we went up to him, and when we were at a short distance from
him, we greeted him and he greeted us in return. 'Ubaidullah was wearing his turban and
Wahshi could not see except his eyes and feet. 'Ubaidullah said, "O Wahshi! Do you
know me?" Wahshi looked at him and then said, "No, by Allah! But I know that
'Adi bin Al-Khiyar married a woman called Um Qital, the daughter of Abu Al-Is, and she
delivered a boy for him at Mecca, and I looked for a wet nurse for that child. (Once) I
carried that child along with his mother and then I handed him over to her, and your feet
resemble that child's feet." Then 'Ubaidullah uncovered his face and said (to
Wahshi), "Will you tell us (the story of) the killing of Hamza?" Wahshi replied "Yes,
Hamza killed Tuaima bin 'Adi bin Al-Khaiyar at Badr (battle) so my master, Jubair bin
Mut'im said to me, 'If you kill Hamza in revenge for my uncle, then you will be set
free." When the people set out (for the battle of Uhud) in the year of
'Ainain ..'Ainain is a mountain near the mountain of Uhud, and between it and Uhud there
is a valley.. I went out with the people for the battle. When the army aligned for the
fight, Siba' came out and said, 'Is there any (Muslim) to accept my challenge to a duel?'
Hamza bin 'Abdul Muttalib came out and said, 'O Siba'. O Ibn Um Anmar, the one who
circumcises other ladies! Do you challenge Allah and His Apostle?' Then Hamza attacked and
killed him, causing him to be non-extant like the bygone yesterday. I hid myself
under a rock, and when he (i.e. Hamza) came near me, I threw my spear at him, driving it
into his umbilicus so that it came out through his buttocks, causing him to die. When
all the people returned to Mecca, I too returned with them. I stayed in (Mecca) till Islam
spread in it (i.e. Mecca). Then I left for Taif, and when the people (of Taif) sent their
messengers to Allah's Apostle, I was told that the Prophet did not harm the messengers; So
I too went out with them till I reached Allah's Apostle. When he saw me, he said, 'Are you
Wahshi?' I said, 'Yes.' He said, 'Was it you who killed Hamza?' I replied, 'What happened
is what you have been told of.' He said, 'Can you hide your face from me?' So I went out
when Allah's Apostle died, and Musailamah Al-Kadhdhab appeared (claiming to be a prophet).
I said, 'I will go out to Musailamah so that I may kill him, and make amends for killing
Hamza. So I went out with the people (to fight Musailamah and his followers) and then
famous events took place concerning that battle. Suddenly I saw a man (i.e. Musailamah)
standing near a gap in a wall. He looked like an ash-colored camel and his hair was
dishevelled. So I threw my spear at him, driving it into his chest in between his breasts
till it passed out through his shoulders, and then an Ansari man attacked him and struck
him on the head with a sword. 'Abdullah bin 'Umar said, 'A slave girl on the roof of a
house said: Alas! The chief of the believers (i.e. Musailamah) has been killed by a black
slave."

Even realize how the glorious Prophet
Muhammad did not have Wahshi killed to avenge for the death of his uncle.

Umaiya bin Khalaf was a criminal who persecuted
Muslims during their stay in Mecca. He needed to pay the price for such deeds. He made the
Prophet of God's mission more difficult and always harassed him.

Bilal Kills Umayyah ibn
Khalaf

At Muhammad's urging and inspiration, his standing in
their midst and inciting them against the enemy, and his announcement that paradise
belongs to the men of valor who plunge fearlessly into the ranks of the enemy, the Muslims
doubled and redoubled their strength. Before entering battle, they resolved to direct
their attention to the leaders and nobles of the Quraysh. They planned to seek them and to
kill them first, remembering the persecution and travails they suffered at their hands in
Makkah, especially the blocking of the road to God and to the holy mosque. Bilal saw
Umayyah ibn Khalaf and his son on the field surrounded by a number of Muslims who had
recognized him and sought to take him as captive. This Umayyah was Bilal's previous
master who used to torture him by forcing him down to the ground where he placed a large
rock on his chest, letting him burn under the torrid sun in order to force him to abjure
Islam. Bilal survived all these travails in certainty of his faith while repeating
continuously, "God is one! God is one!" When his eyes fell upon Umayyah in the
field, he shouted, "Umayyah, the head of idolatry! Death to me if he escapes!"
and charged furiously toward him. The Muslims surrounding Umayyah sought to prevent Bilal
from reaching him. Bilal called to them at high voice: "O Helpers of God! The head of
idolatry is Umayyah ibn Khalaf. Death to me if he escapes!" He charged again toward
Umayyah and killed him.

Scandal-mongering and backbiting were also amongst the
means of oppression that the chiefs of Makkah, in general, and Omaiyah bin Khalaf,
in particular, resorted to in their overall process of evil-doing. In this regard,
All? says:

Once the Prophet was offering prayers at the Ka'ba. Abu Jahl was sitting with some of
his companions. One of them said to the others, "Who amongst you will bring the
abdominal contents (intestines, etc.) of a camel of Bani so and so and put it on the back
of Muhammad, when he prostrates?" The most unfortunate of them got up and brought it.
He waited till the Prophet prostrated and then placed it on his back between his
shoulders. I was watching but could not do any thing. I wish I had some people with me to
hold out against them. They started laughing and falling on one another. Allah's Apostle
was in prostration and he did not lift his head up till Fatima (Prophet's daughter) came
and threw that (camel's abdominal contents) away from his back. He raised his head and
said thrice, "O Allah! Punish Quraish." So it was hard for Abu Jahl and his
companions when the Prophet invoked Allah against them as they had a conviction that the
prayers and invocations were accepted in this city (Mecca). The Prophet said, "O
Allah! Punish Abu Jahl, 'Utba bin Rabi'a, Shaiba bin Rabi'a, Al-Walid bin 'Utba,

Umaiya
bin Khalaf,
and 'Uqba bin Al Mu'it (and he mentioned the seventh whose name I cannot recall). By Allah
in Whose Hands my life is, I saw the dead bodies of those persons who were counted
by Allah's Apostle in the Qalib (one of the wells) of Badr.

When Allah's Apostle reached Medina, Abu Bakr and Bilal became ill. When Abu Bakr's
fever got worse, he would recite (this poetic verse): "Everybody is staying alive
with his People, yet Death is nearer to him than His shoe laces." And Bilal, when his
fever deserted him, would recite: "Would that I could stay overnight in A valley
wherein I would be Surrounded by Idhkhir and Jalil (kinds of good-smelling grass). Would
that one day I could Drink the water of the Majanna, and Would that (The two mountains)
Shama and Tafil would appear to me!" The Prophet said, "O Allah! Curse Shaiba
bin Rabi'a and 'Utba bin Rabi'a and Umaiya bin Khalaf as they turned us out of our
land to the land of epidemics." Allah's Apostle then said, "O Allah! Make us
love Medina as we love Mecca or even more than that. O Allah! Give blessings in our Sa and
our Mudd (measures symbolizing food) and make the climate of Medina suitable for us, and
divert its fever towards Aljuhfa." Aisha added: When we reached Medina, it was the
most unhealthy of Allah's lands, and the valley of Bathan (the valley of Medina) used to
flow with impure colored water.

So here we have a man that was a
torturer of the Muslims. An abuser and ridiculer of a Prophet of God and he made the
Prophet's mission much more difficult than it already was. He was standing in the way of
God's message to be sent. He is a criminal in the sight of God and deserved to die.

Ironically even after Umaiya bin
Khalaf knew that the Prophet was wanting for him to be killed, he still continued to go to
the battlefield. Why did he go?

From Sad bin Mu'adh: Sad bin Mu'adh was
an intimate friend of Umaiya bin Khalaf and whenever Umaiya passed through Medina, he used
to stay with Sad, and whenever Sad went to Mecca, he used to stay with Umaiya. When
Allah's Apostle arrived at Medina, Sa'd went to perform 'Umra and stayed at Umaiya's home
in Mecca. He said to Umaiya, "Tell me of a time when (the Mosque) is empty so that I
may be able to perform Tawaf around the Ka'ba." So Umaiya went with him about midday.
Abu Jahl met them and said, "O Abu Safwan! Who is this man accompanying you?" He
said, "He is Sad." Abu Jahl addressed Sad saying, "I see you wandering
about safely in Mecca inspite of the fact that you have given shelter to the people who
have changed their religion (i.e. became Muslims) and have claimed that you will help them
and support them. By Allah, if you were not in the company of Abu Safwan, you would not be
able to go your family safely." Sad, raising his voice, said to him, "By Allah,
if you should stop me from doing this (i.e. performing Tawaf) I would certainly prevent
you from something which is more valuable for you, that is, your passage through
Medina." On this, Umaiya said to him, "O Sad do not raise your voice before
Abu-l-Hakam, the chief of the people of the Valley (of Mecca)." Sad said, "O
Umaiya, stop that! By Allah, I have heard Allah's Apostle predicting that the Muslim will
kill you." Umaiya asked, "In Mecca?" Sad said, "I do not know."
Umaiya was greatly scared by that news.

When Umaiya returned to his family, he said to his wife, "O Um Safwan! Don't you
know what Sad told me? "She said, "What has he told you?" He replied,
"He claims that Muhammad has informed them (i.e. companions that they will kill me. I
asked him, 'In Mecca?' He replied, 'I do not know." Then Umaiya added, "By
Allah, I will never go out of Mecca." But when the day of (the Ghazwa of) Badr came,
Abu Jahl called the people to war, saying, "Go and protect your caravan." But
Umaiya disliked to go out (of Mecca). Abu Jahl came to him and said, "O Abu Safwan!
If the people see you staying behind though you are the chief of the people of the Valley,
then they will remain behind with you." Abu Jahl kept on urging him to go until he (i.e.
Umaiya) said, "As you have forced me to change my mind, by Allah, I will buy the best
camel in Mecca. Then Umaiya said (to his wife). "O Um Safwan, prepare what I need
(for the journey)." She said to him, "O Abu Safwan! Have you forgotten what your
Yathribi brother told you?" He said, "No, but I do not want to go with them but
for a short distance." So when Umaiya went out, he used to tie his camel wherever he
camped. He kept on doing that till Allah caused him to be killed at Badr.

It has been narrated on the authority of Anas that when (the news
of) the advance of Abu Sufyan (at the head of a force) reached him. the Messenger of Allah
(may peace be upon him) held consultations with his Companions. The narrator said: Abu
Bakr spoke (expressing his own views), but he (the Holy Prophet) did not pay heed to him.
Then spoke 'Umar (expressing his views), but he (the Holy Prophet) did not pay heed to him
(too). Then Sa'd b. 'Ubada stood up and said: Messenger of Allah, you want us (to speak).
By God in Whose control is my life, if you order us to plunge our horses into the sea, we
would do so. If you order us to goad our horses to the most distant place like Bark
al-Ghimad, we would do so. The narrator said: Now the Messenger of Allah (may peace be
upon him) called upon the people (for the encounter). So they set out and encamped at
Badr. (Soon) the water-carriers of the Quraish arrived. Among them was a black slave
belonging to Banu al-Hajjaj. The Companions of the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon
him) caught him and interrogated him about Abu Sufyan and his companions. He said: I
know nothing about Abu Sufyan, but Abu Jahl, Utba, Shaiba and Umayya b. Khalaf are there.
When he said this, they beat him. Then he said: All right, I will tell you about Abu
Sufyan. They would stop beating him and then ask him (again) about Abu Sufyan. He would
again say', I know nothing about Abu Sufyan, but Abu Jahl. 'Utba, Shaiba and Umayya b.
Khalaf are there. When he said this, they beat him likewise. The Messenger of Allah (may
peace be upon him) was standing in prayer. When he saw this he finished his prayer and
said: By Allah in Whose control is my life, you beat him when he is telling you the truth,
and you let him go when he tells you a lie. The narrator said: Then the Messenger of Allah
(may peace be upon him) said: This is the place where so and so would be killed. He placed
his hand on the earth (saying) here and here; (and) none of them fell away from the place
which the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) had indicated by placing his hand on
the earth.

Umaiya bin Khalaf continued not only for a short distance but he went and
continued on his way to the Battlefield in order to fight the Muslims. Now who could go
and possibly say that his killing is not justifiable?